Telling the money story: management reporting to directors of First Nations NFPs

Purpose This qualitative study examines how Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander not-for-profits (NFPs) navigate the structural tensions between compliance requirements and First Nations governance practices. While existing research highlights challenges for NFP directors with financial literacy and board engagement, little is known about how CFOs adapt financial reporting practices to support effective governance in intercultural organisational settings. Design/methodology/approach This study combines longitudinal participant observation with in-depth interviews across 20 organisations. Strong structuration theory (SST) is used to analyse how CFOs navigate competing structural demands and how their practices gradually reshape governance routines over time. Findings CFOs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander NFPs encounter structural tensions between regulatory compliance requirements and directors' culturally grounded information needs. Strategic CFO responses include relationship-building as structural work to address cultural constraints, creating hybrid governance innovations and developing culturally responsive reporting practices. Through repeated interactions, these practices reshape governance expectations and reporting routines, enabling directors' financial oversight while maintaining cultural legitimacy. Practical implications The study offers stakeholder-specific recommendations including cultural competency requirements for accounting professionals, targeted governance support funding from government agencies, and recognition of First Nations organisations as leaders in governance innovation. It also provides guidance for developing culturally responsive financial reporting frameworks. Originality/value This research provides new insights into boardroom dynamics in First Nations NFP settings and extends SST by identifying cultural protocols as external constraints rather than internal dispositions and revealing relationship building as a form of structural work that enables governance transformation in intercultural contexts.